Hey friends. I’m tired – not fully recovered from last week. Almost too tired from the festivities to line the pan with foil. Blame it on intake excess, the side-kick of celebrations. It was a great party – hilarious times in the kitchen, and at the table – but I’m roiling for balance, feel bad about my belly, and (thankfully) my body craves veggies & grains, instead of turkey, gravy, stuffing and pie.

Plates filled with fowl-free nutrition are suddenly right for me. On Wednesday, I made a variation of another restorative – Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Crunchy Vegetables, which we munched on a couple of days. In the recipe I substituted beets for radishes and goat cheese for feta.

Exercise apps at the ready for a quick class.

Vegetarian menus combined with intensified workouts – I’m addicted to my Pocket Yoga app – are restoring my equilibrium. Nothing replaces my flesh-and-blood yoga instructor, but the drive consumes time and gas. My living room is the most restful room for yoga in the house – undoubtedly because it’s the only room consistently clean.

Many of you have roasted other veggies, such as cauliflower and brussels sprouts. This recipe for Roasted Curried Cauliflower with Grapes & Almonds is particularly good. But try giving rich, herbacious broccoli a whirl. The feta lends a smidgen of indulgence to the recipe; I always prefer the French fetas as they are creamier and less salty to my palate.

This detox will continue until next Thursday, when I’m hosting a ladies’ party. It won’t be as buttery intense as Thanksgiving, but rest assured a vegetable platter won’t be the only item on the menu. I’ve been fantasizing a low-octane champagne punch with a festive ice-ring, and a ginger cake with lemon curd; I’m consulting Lucy, my go-to mixologist and pastry chef, about both.

Stay tuned, eat well, and be well. After this week, I’ll tip the see-saw in the other direction. After all, it’s the holidays!

Like a thunder of army boots marching into town, I dread the inevitable scourge of New Year’s insight promoting radical behavioral shifts sure to trample me next month. December offers us carte blanche; Eat, Drink and Be Merry. But January draws nigh, when some of us find ourselves hamsters on a double wheel of guilt trips, agonizing over the previous year’s excess of food and … Full recipe post »

Must pasta insist we default to basil and oregano when seasoning the accompanying sauce? Does Indian cuisine demand we pay homage to proteins with basmati rice, potatoes or Naan? Break free the chains! Particularly now since Al Dente’s latest line of Piccola Pastas have hit market shelves to switch things up. My last post, Pastazanella, was inspired by … Full recipe post »

You’ve described the post-turkey daze well. I’m still in that fog (along with the dog who is sharing turkey leftovers every day). I just wanted to tell you that I modified your sausage-fennel-leek stuffing to make a soup, adding broth, canned tomatoes, roasted corn and, when eaten as a leftover, I threw in some turkey. You saved me a lot of main meal guessing when I wasn’t sure how many would be at the table. I also relied on your roasted vegetable recipe from last year. You know, I learn a lot about the “whys and wherefors” of spices and food types from you – what’s in your magician’s mind for goat’s milk? Tania

Lucky dog – funny! Love your modification of my stuffing recipe – it would make a delicious soup. I always throw the leftover stuffing into my turkey soup, but I’m thinking your addition of canned tomatoes and corn is what I will do next year for a change.

I’m glad my years on the “learn while you burn” plan are of assistance to you. Hmmmm. Goat’s Milk…tangy…easy to digest…I’m thinking some sort of a winter vegetable, cheesy soufflé would be marvelous. Hmmmm…

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